Chapter 76 - Beloved

There were many interesting things on the Philadelphia. According to Auguste’s time on his watch when they boarded, it was about 11 a.m. and Alexia’s concert would not begin until 9 p.m.

“I’ll take you to the exhibition.” Auguste took Hai’an’s hand and looked into his eyes.

“Painting Exhibition?” Hai’an didn’t understand why Auguste suddenly had this interest and wanted to take him to the exhibition.

“Yes, I’ll show you a picture.”

The painting Auguste wanted to show, called “Beloved”, was a painting handed down a long time ago and one of the most famous paintings in the interstellar world.

The painting was of a man, the painter could not be said to be excellent, but was not bad. The author delicately outlined the man’s top half with his brush strokes. The man’s lower body was covered by a velvet blanket. He was lying lazily on a gorgeous big bed. His whole body was full of strong muscles, full of the aesthetic feeling of strength, but he was a man. His face was painted with paint, leaving only the eyes – two huge white holes.

And what made the painting famous were the pigments it used, very special, blood.

People didn’t know when the painting was created, but it had been five thousand years since it was first discovered. Surprisingly, the blood on the painting was still bright red, not withered into a heavy black-brown, but showed a bright red as it had just been smeared on.

Even with the most advanced instruments, it is impossible to detect its age.

Everyone who has seen this painting would be shocked by it. When people approached it, they could feel the strong love transmitted from it, like blood, strong and desperate, which made people cry.

“Well, I didn’t expect the painting to be pulled down. This painting is really shocking. I come here every few years to see it, but after today, I may never see it again.”

“Yes, who was the person who painted this picture? I have never heard of them at all.”

“I don’t know. No record of them can be found in any history book.”

Many people stood in front of the painting in an intense discussion, but everyone’s eyes were red and several people even took out handkerchiefs, wiping the tears that fell from their eyes.

Hai’an was shocked when he saw the painting. He walked to the front of the painting in a daze, and the depression from the pavement instantly weighed on his heart.

“Magic of Time...” Hai’an murmured in a low voice.

This painting had the seal of time magic placed on it so that time was always fixed at the moment it was just painted, so no matter how many years passed, it would be the same and would never change.

Auguste went to Hai’an and took his hand. “The owner of this painting will appear tonight. To take it away, it has been on display for more than five thousand years.”

“Has this painting been on the Philadelphia all the time?” Hai’an turned his head.

“No, it has been on display on many planets. It was put on the Flower Street about two hundred years ago. Does it look good?”

Hai’an looked at the painting and took a deep breath. “It’s a miracle.”

Yes, it’s a miracle, a miracle that lasted tens of thousands of years.

Others couldn’t see the age of the painting, but Hai’an could read the exact time from the magic lines on the canvas. The magic lines were so dense that they overlapped on the canvas one layer after another. That was how the eternal love of the painting was maintained. People would cry when they saw the painting, because they drew from the magic of time. The man of the painting had sealed his own feelings into each stroke – a desperate love.

Hai’an was also sad. The feeling was too heavy. He was just a little closer to the painting. He had such a sad mood. You can imagine how desperate the person who painted the painting had been.

Auguste smiled softly, pulled Hai’an away a little, and took him away from the viewing area of Beloved. “Do you know who owns this painting?”

“I don’t know.” Hai’an shook his head.

“It’s Uncle Ye.”

“Uncle Ye??!!”

“Yes, he will appear in a minute. Have you seen the name of the painter?” Auguste raised his finger and pointed to the lower left corner of the painting. “Do you know that text?”

In the lower left corner of the painting, a small line was written in black ink: [palatine]

No one knows what it was, but the owner of the painting says it was the author’s name.

Hai’an knows this line. It really was a person’s name – a name spelled with the ancient magic words commonly used in Nore, and anyone who had learned magic would know it.

“Palatine...” Hai’an whispered, and after reading it, he found that it was like the name of the priest in the Church of Erenie. Hai’an immediately turned his head and looked at Auguste in shock. “Is this Uncle Ye?”

“Maybe, after all, I haven’t seen Uncle Ye naked.”

“At first, Carl and I fell on a planet with a very bad environment. It was Uncle Ye and Palatine who saved us.” Auguste took Hai’an’s hand and walked slowly forward. “They took Carl and I out of the planet and taught us a lot. Palatine seemed to want to be our teacher, but Carl and I didn’t trust anyone very much. When my eggshell could be turned into a spaceship, we ran at night. Later, when Carl and I joined the army, we met Palatine in the Empire. He didn’t know what to do. He was fascinated by nuns’ portraits and often jumped on Uncle Ye’s feet.”

...

Auguste looked down at the ground with a smile on his lips. He walked forward step by step with Hai’an, and spoke in the most relaxed tone of voice about his past.

Hai’an looked at Auguste’s face in a daze. He did not ask where Auguste was going to take him. Suddenly, a strong feeling surged up to his heart like a huge wave. There were thousands of words in his throat, but he did not know where to start.

“Why don’t you talk?” Auguste suddenly turned and stopped, and Hai’an fell into his arms without paying attention.

“So when you and Carl first met Uncle Ye, did he do the same thing?” Hai’an pulled out of Auguste’s arms and stood upright. “I mean, has he always dressed like this? Covered his whole body with a black cloak.”

“Yes, and in Titus, Uncle Ye’s job was to sweep the streets.”

Hai’an could not help laughing when he heard this. His eyes were slightly bent, face clean, pure, tender and beautiful.

Auguste raised his right hand and gently touched Hai’an’s face, feeling the smooth and delicate skin beneath his fingertips. Then he lowered his head and bit the tip of Hai’an’s nose. His lips touched Hai’an’s lips, but he did not kiss him. “I really want to take a bite of you...”

Hai’an stopped laughing.

Auguste was playing a hooligan again.

It was Auguste’s turn to laugh. Suddenly he picked up Hai’an and ran forward.

Hai’an was shocked by Auguste’s unexpected movements and quickly put his arms around Auguste’s neck. “Where are you going? Put me down.”

“Okay.” Auguste set him down as soon as Hai’an spoke.

They arrived at a church.

Lydney, Carl, Colin, Corson and Jamie were all there, standing on both sides of the church. The white marble pillars with light patterns on the side of the church were carved with exquisite patterns. The domes of the arch, the colorful rose glass windows, the statues around them were vivid and exquisite reliefs. The ground made of white marble was shining brightly, reflecting everyone’s figure.

Palatine sat at the front of the audience, saw Auguste and Hai’an, turned his head and lowered his eyes, and greeted them, “Hi!”

And standing in front of him was Uncle Ye, who took off his black cloak.

Uncle Ye’s beautiful face had no expression, and his golden hair seemed to shine like a light, but his lips, which had always been pale, were now very red, as if they had been painted with lip honey, and as clear and shining as sapphire eyes looked at them.

“Here we are.” Uncle Ye’s voice was still hoarse and low.

He and Palatine changed clothes. Palatine no longer wore his black sacrificial clothes, but a white priest’s gown. Uncle Ye wore a white suit. His slightly tightened sleeves showed his excellent figure.

Hai’an did not know what Auguste was going to do, but his heart beat fast. Auguste pulled Hai’an to Uncle Ye and stood face to face with him. Uncle Ye looked at the two of them and laughed. “Auguste, would you like this man to be your husband and enter into a marriage contract with him? Love him, take care of him, respect him, accept him, be faithful to him until the end of his life, whether sick or healthy, or for any other reason?”

“I will.”

“Hai’an Galanold, would you like this man to be your husband and enter into a marriage contract with him? Love him, take care of him, respect him, accept him, and remain faithful to him until the end of his life, regardless of illness, health or any other reason?”

Galanold was the surname of all the white elves. Hai’an could see the clear shadow of himself in Auguste’s deep red eyes. He watched his eyes that were deep and firm, with a fiery flame, and the heat went straight to the bottom of his heart.

Hai’an’s throat slipped. He felt that he was trembling all over. He thought he was speechless, but he heard his clear and firm voice, “I will.”

Auguste pulled out a necklace from his pocket. Hai’an looked at it. He thought he had hidden it in his flowerpot, Auguste gave him his soul stone. Auguste opened the necklace and put the soul stone around Hai’an’s neck.

“I have witnessed you swear to love each other, and now you can kiss each other.”

The dome of the church was carved with beautiful patterns and reliefs. A beam of sunlight shone from the dome into the hall and hit Auguste and Hai’an. In the white light, Hai’an closed his eyes, and then felt Auguste’s warm lips gently imprint himself against his.